🌱 Growing Lisianthus From Seed - What Actually Works! 🌱

Hey you guys, Yulia here. So today's video will be about Lysianthus. And Lysianthus has a reputation of one of the hardest flowers to grow. And if you've ever failed to either start Lysianthus from seed or in any of the steps after that, this video is for you. Quick facts about Lysianthus before we start. They're actually native to the United States, which a lot of people are not aware of. And they are native to the plain states of the United States, where they grow in this meadow, prairie-like conditions, which I would love to see one day in person. And then there are a number of native species here in the United States, which were hybridized in many different colors and shapes. Interesting fact is that the hybridization mostly happens in Japan, and then those cultivars are brought back here. They are hardy to Zone 7 with some protection, and definitely hardy to Zone 8. In fact, we've had one of the coldest Decembers I remember on record, and some of the Lysianthus that I left outside from summer are still alive and doing well. Here's some varieties that I grew last year. I grew two of the Roseanne series, the Terracotta, which was unreal. When that plant started blooming, I was shocked. The color was this most beautiful burned sugar, brown, pink, purple. And another Roseanne was Black Pearl, which was also an amazing color. It had some blues, some purples, and some grays in it. Also grew Corelli Pink and Voyage Pink. Corelli Pink is more like a blushy pink, beautiful plant, and Voyage Pink was more of the classic pink with a light ruffling. Let's get to growing Lysianthus and actually starting seeds, which I'm going to do today. And the reason why I'm starting them so early, because they take a long time to mature. If I start them right now at the end of December or beginning of January, it takes about six months before I see flowers. That's why people give up because they just don't have the patience, but those flowers are totally worth growing. So I have my seed starting mix here and I use seed starting mix because the seeds of Lysianthus are very small and they need a lot of air to germinate. If you use a regular potting mix, you can sift it through to make it fluffier. I always add sand to my seed starting mix and all of my potting mixes. It just makes the structure of the soil a lot better. I'm using these cells or small greenhouses. You can use whatever you have on hand. You can use a recycled plastic containers from grocery store. You can try doing soil blocking, which I have done and they have been quite successful. The one thing that is super important is to wash and disinfect everything because you do not want any sort of diseases or insect infestations because these plants are going to stay in these containers for quite a while. You don't want any problems. Have prepared my labels already because I am the worst at labeling things. I'm just going to put them here right away so I'm not confused. I'm going to pre-moisten the soil or the potting mix just a little bit. Here are the seeds of Lysianthus. As you can see they are pelleted and there is a reason for it because they are so tiny you wouldn't even be able to see them if they weren't. Just take a toothpick and place one seed per cell and water it slightly after I sow the seeds to break the coat. You can actually see the coat breaking down right away sometimes. This is the easiest part of the process but now I'm going to go downstairs and place these under lights. If I place these little greenhouses under lights right away, the seeds are surface sown because they need light to germinate and I will keep these lights on for 12 hours a day Even though nothing is happening yet, the seeds have not germinated but I'm using Berina lights for seed starting and I have been using Berina lights forever. This is one of their newer seed starting stations that they sent out to me to try. As you can see the steppables that we started a couple of weeks ago are really happy here and all of the lights are actually individually controlled so I can turn this off or turn this one on whenever I need to. And I will post a link to Berina lights, not just this one, but any of the ones that are available in the description down below so you can check it out. And now we wait because it takes anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks for the seeds to germinate. If the seed starting mix gets too dry, make sure that you water it because those seeds need a consistent moisture to germinate. Now here's where it gets tricky. A lot of times I get messages saying, hey it's been 2 weeks, my seeds have not germinated, I failed. But it's most likely because people cannot see the new seedlings, they are so microscopic. So get your bifocals, get your magnifying glass, something so you can actually see the little baby Lisianthus. From that point on it's pretty much a waiting game. And Lisianthus is an interesting plant because it bulks up its root system before the top starts to grow. And that's why I like growing them at first in these clear cells because I can see just how well the root system is developing. Now after a month or a couple of months, I usually bump them up in these spots. I know, this may not seem that big of a difference, but they really appreciate a little bit of a larger container to have their roots continue to grow. And then in another month, I would plant them in something like this before I plant them out. And during that long process, I make sure that they get about 12 hours per day, I water them consistently, but also fertilize. And I fertilize my Lisianthus every couple of weeks with diluted organic fertilizer. There are a lot of wonderful organic fertilizers out there in the market, but I found Dr. Earth to be the least smelliest because we are growing seeds inside, so we don't want that smell. Now during the growing process, you can encounter algae growth on top of the seed starting mix. It's not harmful by itself, but it can interfere with water exchange when you're watering your seedlings. And that's why I like to bottom water my seedlings. But to prevent algae growth, you can spread some vermiculite on top of the seed starting mix. Okay, so when is the time to plant your seedlings outside? As I mentioned, they are a lot cold tolerant than we think, so I actually plant out mine around April 15th, which is our last frost date. Sometimes I plant it a little bit earlier. In fact, do not wait until the soil is too warm because what can happen is Lisianthus rosetting, which means that the soil is too warm and they start to create a lot of leafier growth and do not have that flower stalk because it gets a little too warm outside. And there are different ways you can use them in the garden. You can plant them out in the landscape, in your flower beds, and I usually space them out about six inches apart and away from other plants. But there are also wonderful container plants, and you can plant them as close as four inches because they take up very little real estate for the amount of flowers they produce. They do require full sun, which means at least six hours of sun per day, but avoid planting them somewhere where they can be exposed to that harsh afternoon sun that burns up the flowers rather quickly. So where I planted them last year was in the morning sun, which was gentle and wonderful and the flowers lasted for a very long time. Speaking of which, Lisianthus is a very long-lasting flower, both in the landscape and in bouquets. And if you're harvesting your Lisianthus for bouquets, you can actually have it reflushed. Make sure that you fertilize it a little bit extra. It does take quite a while, so if I'm starting my Lisianthus from seed right now, I would get my flowers around June time, and if I collect them for bouquets, I will get another reflush sometime in August. And as for diseases, Lisianthus is one of the healthiest plants that I've grown in my own garden. In fact, that's why a lot of flower growers prefer it over roses, which need a lot of chemical intervention for diseases and insect pressure. But there's one fungal disease that they're prone to, which is Fusarium. So if you see a plant wilt out of a sudden, make sure that you remove it and you remove all of the soil around that plant. That is most likely Fusarium that affects the roots, and then the plant. But there's one thing that is kind of non-negotiable with Lisianthus, and it is good drainage. And actually, I notice when I grow it in my own garden, they prefer a lot better in containers because I like to add a little bit of grit and some light medium that improves drainage, and they are so much healthier. And also, you do need to stake some of the taller varieties that are great for cutting, but there are shorter varieties that are great in the landscapes, and there are even some dwarf varieties that are less than a foot tall. I haven't seen many of those sold here in the United States, but they are very popular in Europe, and I think they eventually will come here as a bedding plant, but you also can grow them as a house plant on your windowsill in the winter. That's pretty much it for Lisianthus growing. It is not a difficult plant to grow. It's just painfully slow, but to recap, make sure that you don't miss those seedlings when they germinate because they are tiny. Give it consistent moisture. Make sure that you fertilize on time and let those roots develop before the top develops. Don't plant them out too late in the landscape. They do prefer cooler temperatures. Stake them and enjoy them. They're absolutely stunning plants, and I think you will love them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this video and learned something new, and I will see you in the next one. What do I do with my hands? Play the piano. Slide. Eight flowers last a long, long, a lot. Facts. My brain is scrambled. What is happening over there? Mix here. I have my soil gotten on. See you guys later.